In American politics, the response to the State of the Union address is a rebuttal speech, often brief, delivered by a representative (or representatives) of an opposition party following a presidential State of the Union address. When the president is a Democrat, the rebuttal is typically given by a Republican, and vice versa.
The practice began in 1966 when Republican Sen. Everett Dirksen (Illinois) and Rep. Gerald Ford (Michigan) appeared on TV to offer a response to the address by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson. The opposition party's response has varied in format, ranging from a prerecorded 45-minute TV program in 1970 to a call-in show in 1972 where a panel of congressmen answered unrehearsed questions from callers. Since the late 1980s, it usually has been a televised speech given soon after the State of the Union address.
Four presidents have given both a State of the Union address and an opposition response: Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Joe Biden.
List of responses
Unless otherwise noted, the response was broadcast live the same night as the State of the Union address and given in English.
| Year | Responding Party/Group | Response given by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| President Lyndon Johnson (D) | |||
| 1966 | Republican | Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (IL) and House Minority Leader Gerald Ford (MI) | Response given five days later and recorded live and broadcast that evening |
| 1967 | Senate Minority Leader Everett Dirksen (IL) and House Minority Leader Gerald Ford (MI) | Formatted as a news conference | |
| 1968 | Sens. Howard Baker (TN), Peter Dominick (CO), Robert Griffin (MI), Thomas Kuchel (CA), George Murphy (CA), Chuck Percy (IL), Hugh Scott (PA), and John Tower (TX) and Reps. George Bush (TX), Gerald Ford (MI), Mel Laird (WI), Bob Mathias (CA), Dick Poff (VA), Al Quie (MN), Charlotte Reid (IL), and Bill Steiger (WI) | Response given six days later | |
| 1969 | No response given due to the address occurring in the final week of Johnson's term | ||
| President Richard Nixon (R) | |||
| 1970 | Democratic | Sens. Albert Gore (TN), Philip Hart (MI), Scoop Jackson (WA), Mike Mansfield (MT), Ed Muskie (ME), and Bill Proxmire (WI), and Ralph Yardborough (TX), and Reps. Carl Albert (MA), Donald Fraser (MN), John McCormack (MA), and Patsy Mink (HI) | Prerecorded response given seventeen days later and included discussions with voters |
| 1971 | Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (MT) | Response given four days later in an interview format with reporters asking questions | |
| 1972 | Sens. Lloyd Bentsen (TX), Frank Church (ID), Tom Eagleton (MO), and Bill Proxmire (WI) and Reps. Carl Albert (OK), Hale Boggs (LA), John Brademas (IN), Martha Griffiths (MI), John Melcher (MT), Ralph Metcalfe (IL), and Leonor Sullivan (MO) | Response given one day later; panelists answered questions submitted live by voters over the phone | |
| 1973 | No response given due to Nixon submitting the State of the Union report in writing | ||
| 1974 | Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield (MT) | Response given two days later | |
| President Gerald Ford (R) | |||
| 1975 | Democratic | Rep. Carl Albert (OK) and Sen. Hubert Humphrey (MN) | Response given five to seven days later with Albert's speech airing on the first two nights and Humphrey's speech on the third night |
| 1976 | Sen. Ed Muskie (ME) | Response given two days later | |
| 1977 | No response given due to the address occurring in the final week of Ford's term | ||
| President Jimmy Carter (D) | |||
| 1978 | Republican | Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker (TN) and House Minority Leader John Rhodes (AZ) | Response given seven days later in a question-and-answer format |
| 1979 | Senate Minority Leader Howard Baker (TN) and House Minority Leader John Rhodes (AZ) | Baker and Rhodes gave official response one day later as a news conference; Sen. Bob Dole (KS) and Rep. Barber Conable (NY) joined Baker and Rhodes for an interview on NBC that evening | |
| 1980 | Acting Senate Minority Leader Ted Stevens (AK) and House Minority Leader John Rhodes (AZ) | Prerecorded response given five days later | |
| 1981 | No response given due to Carter submitting the State of the Union report in writing | ||
| President Ronald Reagan (R) | |||
| 1981 | Democratic | No response given to Reagan's first address to a joint session of Congress | |
| 1982 | Gov. Jerry Brown (CA); Sens. Robert Byrd (WV), Alan Cranston (CA), Gary Hart (CO), Bennett Johnston (LA), Ted Kennedy (MA), Don Riegle (MI), Paul Sarbanes (MD), and Jim Sasser (TN); Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (MA); and Rep. Al Gore (TN) | Prerecorded, documentary-style response including man-on-the-street interviews | |
| 1983 | Sens. Joe Biden (DE), Bill Bradley (NJ), Robert Byrd (WV), and Paul Tsongas (MA); Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (MA); and Reps. Les AuCoin (OR), Tom Daschle (SD), Bill Hefner (NC), Barbara Kennelly (CT), George Miller (CA), Paul Simon (IL), and Tim Wirth (CO) | Prerecorded | |
| 1984 | Moderated by Gov. Michael Dukakis (MA) and included Sens. Max Baucus (MT), Joe Biden (DE), David Boren (OK), Robert Byrd (WV), Dee Huddleston (KY), Carl Levin (MI), and Claiborne Pell (RI); Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (MA); and Reps. Barbara Boxer (CA), Dante Fascell (FL), Bill Gray (PA), and Tom Harkin (IA) | Partially prerecorded | |
| 1985 | Hosted by Gov. Bill Clinton (AR) and included remarks from Rep. Dick Gephardt (MO), Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (MA), and Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (WV); focus groups moderated by Sens. Chris Dodd (CT) and Sam Nunn (GA), House Majority Leader Jim Wright (TX), Rep. Bill Richardson (NM), Gov. Chuck Robb (VA), Lt. Gov. Nancy Dick (CO), Attorney General Dave Armstrong (KY), and Mayor Wilson Goode (Philadelphia) | Prerecorded response featuring excerpts from focus groups with Democratic voters moderated by Democratic politicians | |
| 1986 | Sen. George Mitchell (ME), Reps. Tom Daschle (SD) and Bill Gray (PA), Lt. Gov. Harriett Woods (MO), and Fmr. Gov. Chuck Robb (VA) | Last response to be given by more than two people | |
| 1987 | Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (WV) and Speaker of the House Jim Wright (TX) | ||
| 1988 | Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd (WV) and Speaker of the House Jim Wright (TX) | ||
| President George H. W. Bush (R) | |||
| 1989 | Democratic | Speaker of the House Jim Wright (TX) and Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (TX) | |
| 1990 | Speaker of the House Tom Foley (WA) | ||
| 1991 | Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell (ME) | ||
| 1992 | Speaker of the House Tom Foley (WA) | ||
| President Bill Clinton (D) | |||
| 1993 | Republican | House Minority Leader Bob Michel (IL) | |
| 1994 | Senate Minority Leader Bob Dole (KS) | ||
| 1995 | Gov. Christine Todd Whitman (NJ) | ||
| 1996 | Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (KS) | ||
| 1997 | Rep. J. C. Watts (OK) | ||
| 1998 | Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (MS) | ||
| 1999 | Reps. Jennifer Dunn (WA) and Steve Largent (OK) | ||
| 2000 | Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Bill Frist (TN) | ||
| President George W. Bush (R) | |||
| 2001 | Democratic | Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (SD) and House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (MO) | |
| 2002 | House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt (MO) | ||
| 2003 | Gov. Gary Locke (WA) | ||
| 2004 | Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (SD) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) |
||
| 2005 | Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (NV) House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (CA) |
||
| 2006 | Gov. Tim Kaine (VA) | ||
| 2007 | Sen. Jim Webb (VA) | ||
| 2008 | Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (KS) | ||
| President Barack Obama (D) | |||
| 2009 | Republican | Gov. Bobby Jindal (LA) | |
| 2010 | Gov. Bob McDonnell (VA) | ||
| 2011 | Rep. Paul Ryan (WI) | ||
| Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) | Response given in Spanish | ||
| Tea Party | Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-MN) | ||
| 2012 | Republican | Gov. Mitch Daniels (IN) | |
| Tea Party | Herman Cain, a businessman from Georgia | ||
| 2013 | Republican | Sen. Marco Rubio (FL) | Response given in English and Spanish |
| Tea Party | Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) | ||
| 2014 | Republican | Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) | |
| Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL) | Response given in Spanish | ||
| Tea Party | Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) | ||
| 2015 | Republican | Sen. Joni Ernst (IA) | |
| Rep. Carlos Curbelo (FL) | Response given in Spanish | ||
| Tea Party | Rep. Curt Clawson (R-FL) | ||
| 2016 | Republican | Gov. Nikki Haley (SC) | |
| Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (FL) | Response given in Spanish | ||
| President Donald Trump (R) | |||
| 2017 | Democratic | Fmr. Gov. Steve Beshear (KY) | |
| Astrid Silva, an immigration activist from Nevada | Response given in Spanish | ||
| 2018 | Rep. Joe Kennedy III (MA) | ||
| State Del. Elizabeth Guzmán (VA) | Response given in Spanish | ||
| 2019 | Fmr. State Rep. Stacey Abrams (GA) | ||
| Attorney General Xavier Becerra (CA) | Response given in Spanish | ||
| Working Families | Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D-WI) | ||
| 2020 | Democratic | Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (MI) | |
| Rep. Veronica Escobar (TX) | Response given in Spanish | ||
| Working Families | Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) | ||
| President Joe Biden (D) | |||
| 2021 | Republican | Sen. Tim Scott (SC) | |
| Working Families | Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) | ||
| 2022 | Republican | Gov. Kim Reynolds (IA) | |
| Working Families | Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) | ||
| Congressional Black Caucus | Rep. Colin Allred (D-TX) | ||
| Problem Solvers Caucus | Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) | Organized by No Labels | |
| 2023 | Republican | Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (AR) | |
| Rep. Juan Ciscomani (AZ) | Response given in Spanish | ||
| Working Families | Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) | ||
| 2024 | Republican | Sen. Katie Britt (AL) | |
| Rep. Monica De La Cruz (TX) | Response given in Spanish | ||
| Working Families | Councilmember Nicolas O'Rourke (Philadelphia At-Large) | ||
| Independent | Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. | ||
- ^ Starting in 1981, first-term Presidents have been invited to address a joint session of Congress shortly after their inauguration. These have reflected the style of a State of the Union address but are not officially titled as a "State of the Union." Since 1989 the opposition party has offered a response.
- NBC and CBS aired the response on the same night as the State of the Union address while ABC aired it two days later
References
- ^ "Opposition Responses to the State of the Union Messages (1966-Present)". United States Senate. Archived from the original on March 8, 2024. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
- Frum, David (2000). How We Got Here: The '70s. New York: Basic Books. p. 47. ISBN 0-465-04195-7.
- Polus, Sarah (April 28, 2021). "Biden Becomes Just Fourth President to Have Given Both SOTU Rebuttal and Joint Address". The Hill. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
- The President's State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications (PDF). Congressional Research Service. January 24, 2014. p. 2.
- Henderson, Nia-Malika (20 January 2015). "This is the best/worst State of the Union response ever. And, yes, Bill Clinton is prominently featured". Washington Post. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "The Democratic Response". PBS.org. February 27, 2001. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
- "Transcript of Gov. Jindal's GOP response to Obama speech". CNN. February 24, 2009. Retrieved January 28, 2011.
- ^ "Democrats Pick Ex-Kentucky Governor To Respond To Trump Speech To Congress". NPR. February 24, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
- "GOP Sen. Tim Scott to deliver GOP response for Biden address to Congress". CNN.com. April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
- "Rep. Jamaal Bowman Delivers WFP Response to Biden Joint Address". Working Families Party. 2021-04-29. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- "Squad member to deliver response to Biden SOTU". POLITICO. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- "Dallas Rep. Colin Allred to give Congressional Black Caucus response to Biden's State of the Union". Dallas News. 2022-03-01. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
- "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "State Of The Union" Address: 80% Of Americans Don't Want To Choose Between The Lesser Of Two Evils". RealClear Politics. 2024-03-11. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
Sources
- "Televised Opposition Responses to the President's Annual Message". Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
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